CAPE TIMES

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2009 6

JONNY COOPER ORCHESTRA – SWING

SAFARI (JONNY COOPER)The Cooper ensemble hasestablished itself as a firmfavourite on the big band land-scape and here they show offtheir fine metal. It’s somethingof a South African songbookthat aptly celebrates our her-itage with clever arrange-

ments that relay much of thejoy of tracks such as NicoCarsten’s distinctive Zambezi,

Ntjilo Ntjilo, Bloemfontein Se

Rose, Pata Pata and Mama

Thembu’s Wedding. GloriaBosman breathes life into azesty version of Meadowlands

with sideman Timothy Moloiand The African Mamas,while Afrikaans anthem,Suikerbossie, is given a mili-tary spin. From a capella topunchy big band there’s every-thing from Len Richey blow-ing sweet kwela on Penny

Whistle Song to Louis Prima’s1936 swing classic Sing Sing

Sing, which sees Gene Kru-per’s drum solo being replacedby McGill Anderson and God-frey Mcina. Full bodied swing-ing in the Skadu Van Ou Tafel-

berg.

SUMMER IN CAPE TOWN –VOLUME ONE (JAZZPOTJIE PROJECTS)

A thoroughly beguiling Capejazz version of Sunny makesfor a superb opener as RobbieJansen gives his relaxed beston this groovy evergreen. It’squite a mixed bag which seesErin Clark snaking throughthe jazzy score of an accessi-

ble take of Softly in a Morning

Sunrise with George Werneron piano. Peter Ndlala showsoff his command of the fretswith a bass solo on Envelope

for Penelope, while LeslieJooste settles for romance onL-O-V-E. Soi Soi Gqeza andTiti Tsira’s stomping rendi-tion of Meadowlands is seduc-tively mobile, as is a jiveyappearance by Zami Mdimgi.The Little Giants offer up aCape Samba tune, and ErikaLundi does her distinctiveTina Turner-ish take with per-fect Way on the bandstand.This show of local talentincludes bonus tracks by Gra-madoelas with Wat Nie Dood

Maak Nie, Maak Vet. Jansenaptly closes the set with Bath

Street Goema. Reviews: Jane Mayne

CDs

City jazzman’s debutalbum is a winner

ANDRÉ MANUEL

IT’S OFTEN said that for youngpeople living on the Cape Flats,there are very few positive rolemodels. Say this to Kyle Shepherd,and he’ll quickly rattle off a list ofmusical giants who have served asmentors to him, many of whom arecompletely overlooked, a kind ofcultural amnesia, which has led tothe suppression of a sound that isunique to the Cape.

It is within this context, andwith this inspiration, that Shep-herd’s debut album fineArt wasborn. It is an offering of traditionalgoema, folk jazz and that particularMoravian harmonic church sound,filtered through the life and im-mense artistry of the young Kyle.

Shepherd has crafted a beautifulalbum of 11 original compositionsand one traditional song, with a del-icate and respectful approach to anold sound, gently placing his voiceand musical feel into all of theworks.

From its very first stroke, start-ing with the lively, melodic Zimol-

ogy to the infectious rhythmicpiano groove on Dylan Goes to

Church to the upbeat raw and ener-getic sound of Die Goema, thenflowing to the quieter side of thealbum with the haunting take onthe traditional song, Die maan skyn

so helder, sung by Shepherd andsubtly accompanied by BuddyWells on tenor sax, the album gripsyou by the proverbial heartstrings.

After immersing myself in thesound of fineArt for many daysbefore finally penning this piece, Ican confidently say this album isdefinitely one of the better jazzreleases to come from this city for along time.

All of the compositions, saysKyle, have been continuously re-worked over the years as he accu-mulated more knowledge.

“The readiness of the albumdecided itself,” he says. “It hap-pened when it did. An album in anartist’s life is just a portrait of thattime.”

With Buddy Wells on tenor sax,Dylan Tabisher on double bass andClaude Cozens on drums, withShepherd on piano, alto sax, vocalsand percussion, the quartet has theability to sometimes sound like abig band, with sensitive, quiet

moments swelling into big melodiesof horn harmonies.

The quartet’s offering is coher-ent and clear, packed with delicateintensity, both wide open andsparse, allowing the emotion tobreath through.

That said, it is the sensitive,quiet bits that make this albumvery special. Nothing is overplayedand all the parts fit perfectly intothe arrangements.

The music is uncompromisingly

personal and documents a youngartist’s journey to musical matu-rity.

But Shepherd doesn’t take thecredit all for himself.

“The band was perfect for thealbum,” he says. “Our connectionas people was far greater than(what’s achieved when) bookingsession musicians.

“It was like a natural synergy –resulting in a delivery far greater.

“The instruments were mixed in

a way that reinforces the aestheticof that old sound – the piano andsax upfront with the double bassand drums emerging from some-where in the background.

“I wanted the sound to beacoustic, honest and sincere and werecorded on a stage at StellenboschConservatory.

“The music needs to speak foritself.”

Kyle, despite his youth, has hada long, varied and rich career in

jazz, and has managed to make hismark as one of the best original jazztalents in the city, and is firmlyleading the new breed of Cape jazz.

He regards himself as a multi-dimensional artist, exploring allfour artistic disciplines – music,words, visuals and movement, inhis live stage performances.

The quartet’s performance atthe packed album launch at theSABC Auditorium was no different,with the show incorporating avisual display, making the live per-formance more of a theatre experi-ence than just a music show.

“Our aim is to constantly raisethe bar of what is achievable.

“Our conviction is very aggres-sive and very particular as towhere, how and how often we play,”says Shepherd’s business partner,Theo Lawrence.

As a composer and arranger,Shepherd is proving to be one ofthe chief architects of modernCape jazz.

I can’t really find flaws in thealbum, except to say that the songsall have a very familiar ring to themand are very distinctly ‘AbdullahIbrahim’ in many places.

But that is not necessarily a badthing. This, however, does notdetract from an album that will forsure contribute to the appreciationand preservation of the heritageand culture of the sound we fondlyforgot as Cape jazz.”

And if you were wondering howthe rather academic concept of fineart ties in with the free form ofCape Jazz and a young musiciandiscovering his musical self, you’llfind this pearl of wisdom in theliner notes – along with three ofShepherd’s poems instead of theregular list of thank-yous:

“fineArt is the soil in which theseed of creativity manifests itself.this is music from home. Whywouldn’t it be? Why shouldn’t itbe?”

● The album is distributed by

FineArt Music. It can be found at

various independent music outlets

across the city, or from the label. See

www.kyleshepherd.co.za

Shepherd will perform solo at

Welgemeend, 129 Kloof Street, Gar-

dens on February 21 at 7.30pm.

Tickets are R70. To book, call

072 351 5204, or e-mail info@

kyleshepherd.co.za

SOLO: Kyle Shepherd will play music from his album fineArt at Welgemeend on February 21 at 7.30pm.